From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishleverle‧ver1 /ˈliːvə $ ˈlevər/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 TDa stick or handle on a machine or piece of equipment, that you move to operate it Pull this lever to open the gate. → gear lever2 TZa long thin piece of metal that you use to lift something heavy by putting one end under the object and pushing the other end down3 EFFECT/INFLUENCEsomething you use to influence a situation to get the result that you want Rich countries use foreign aid as a lever to achieve political aims.
Examples from the Corpus
lever• On the Chunky and double knit ribbers, this third control is a lever at the top of the tension dial.• Besides a standard keyboard, the memex would have rows of buttons and levers.• The extra weight acted as levers which made Hsu Fu twist and wrack even more.• We liked the positive action and shape of the best changing lever.• Many nations used sanctions as an economic lever to help end apartheid in South Africa.• No palm print on the gear lever, for instance.• Children simply crank the lever, and out pop perfectly formed hearts and stars.• All they lack now is the levers of power.Pull ... lever• She pulled a lever at the base of the cage.• The blacks went in, pulled the lever, came out, and got their chickens.• Then Tony pulled the lever and the wheel began to slow down.• They are let, loose by a man in a Plexiglas bubble controlling every-thing by pulling levers.• Complete the lace message - pull the selected lever and move the lace carriage to the right.• The cataract can now be turned off at the pull of a lever.• Card No. 3 has a new instruction: you will pull the selector lever on occasions and no needles will be selected.leverlever2 verb [transitive] 1 MOVE something OR somebodyto move something with a leverlever something off/up/out etc He levered the stone into place.2 → lever yourself up3 LEAVE A JOB OR ORGANIZATIONto make someone leave a particular job, situation etclever somebody out They’re trying to lever him out of his job.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
lever• Daniel levered himself out of the sofa and stood up.• Gingerly he reached forward, found a wall and levered himself up against it.• Ross levered himself up, going against the pain, going fast, making his hand stiff from wrist to fingertip.• I would take a Bourbon in one hand and lever off the lid with my two front teeth.• A central angled cut will make levering out easier 7 Use the crowbar to prise the frame from the wall.• The government, for example, emphasises physical renewal and the extent to which public expenditure has levered private sector investment.• He was using Kring to lever the top off the altar.• Dougal levered up the rectangle of hardwood.Origin lever (1200-1300) Old French levier, from lever “to raise” 